Ames police are warning people about fraud calls after a woman lost $2,000.

"Anytime they request money you should really question that," said Cmdr. Geoff Huff of the Ames Police Department.

Police said a caller identified themselves as a federal agent of some kind and tells you that you violated some law in the past. They say they are going to arrest you or maybe even search your house, but you can make everything go away by paying money.

"We don't call people and say, 'Hey, you got an arrest warrant,' or 'Hey, we're going to come do a search warrant on your house.' That's just not something we do so that could be a red flag to begin with," said Huff.

The Boone County Sheriff's Office is alerting people about another type of call that involves a promise of a car or other prizes if the targeted victim sends them a prepaid card.

We asked Huff why people continue to fall victim to these types of scams. He said for one, some people haven't heard about the latest scams since they're changing all the time and second he said people in Iowa tend to be very trusting.

"These folks can be very convincing when they're on the phone and I think either people you know think, 'Boy this is a great deal' or they get scared from the information they're hearing," said Huff.